Leveling up in World of Warcraft Classic was no easy feat: A bitter reminder of just how little time players of the original game have in adulthood. If you were able to stick it through, you’re likely all set to venture through the Dark Portal as Burning Crusade Classic launches in early June. If not, there’s still hope. A one-time paid boost can take a character of your choice to level 58. But with level 60 still being the goal, you don’t have much time to get there. Here’s how to level a boosted character to level 60 fast in WoW Classic.

Before we get started, we need to explain how to boost a WoW Classic character. Now that the Burning Crusade pre-patch has kicked in, all you need to do to reach the lofty heights of level 58 is purchase the boost from the in-game shop on the character select screen.

You can boost a new or existing character — so long as it’s on a Burning Crusade realm. Even though it’s a paid item, you can only boost one character per account. And they can’t be of the new Draenei or Blood Elf races. So choose wisely.

With the Burning Crusade pre-patch, leveling in World of Warcraft Classic has changed ever so slightly. Total experience needed to hit level 60 has decreased 15%, and quests completed over level 30 actually award more experience points than before. With plenty of previously co-op-only quests being nerfed to be more solo player-friendly, the once laborious journey to max level should feel noticeably less so. That’s not to say it won’t still take some considerable time investment, though.

But as a newly boosted level 58, you’ll gain a full set of equipment, some gold, and the riding profession and accompanying mount to get you flying (well, galloping) out of the gate. The armor you’re handed isn’t the best, however. In fact, it’s pretty far below what a manually leveled character could have at that point, meaning your first port of call should be to get that sorted. You’ll struggle to grind those last two levels in your current state.

Before all that, though, you need to make the age-old decision of which talent specialization you’re wont to go down. Talents in WoW Classic work to create an old-school RPG build, meaning every point counts, and fixing any little mistakes can be costly. There are plenty of guides out there to push you in the right direction. All you need to do is decide whether you want to go into The Burning Crusade as a tank, healer, or DPS, and build accordingly.

As a genre-defining MMORPG, WoW Classic lets you ascend to higher levels in a bunch of different ways to suit your playstyle. It’s not just about battles, either. It’s entirely possible to pick flowers all the way to max level — just expect to watch your life pass you by in the process. So whether you’re into PvP, dungeons with friends, or like to go it alone, here are the best ways to go from 58-60 in WoW Classic.

Across Azeroth, you’ll hear the same suggestion over and over: PvP is the way forward. If you’re looking to push to 60 as soon as possible, putting on a brave face and diving straight into mortal combat with your fellow man is how you’ll get there.

It’s not just that it’s a particularly speedy way to gain those last two levels, but the Honor Points you’ll gain along the way should afford you some powerful new weapons and armor to help you on the other side of the Dark Portal. You won’t have to go traversing the world to find level-appropriate quests this way, either. You can just stick to your faction’s major city and repeatedly queue for your preferred Battlegrounds.

Although finding players around your level to run dungeons turned out to be easier said than done a few weeks into Classic, the Burning Crusade pre-patch has helped smooth things out. With so many players suddenly boosting mains and alts to 58, finding groups for the final few dungeons of the base game is far easier than before.

A lot of these players won’t be the absolute pinnacle of the player base, but by using the newly added Looking for Group feature or just joining a guild or server-specific Discord channel, you should have no problem finding other players to trek through dungeons with. A boosted character’s lackluster gear will start to show its kinks here, but stick it through and you’ll come out the other end with some equipment upgrades. If you’re going the dungeon route, here’s the suggested order:

If you’re struggling to get a group together for dungeons, you’ll have to fall back on good old-fashioned questing on your 58-60 grind. You won’t be finding any high-tier equipment this way and may eventually struggle in the early hours of The Burning Crusade, but if you don’t have any other option, it’s better than nothing.

Whichever zone you decide to dedicate the final stretch to, most players will advise you to see its quest chains through to the end for the Rare or Epic equipment they’ll typically reward you with for your trouble. And remember: As of the TBC pre-patch, quests above level 30 award more experience points than they previously did, so don’t let tales of the final slog of Classic put you off. Here are the best leveling zones for 58-60.

Whichever route you take in your journey from 58-60, gearing up is the most important aspect. The gear you get for boosting won’t be up to the task of taking on the monsters of Hellfire Penninsula, and with thousands of other players rushing through alongside you on launch day, you’ll need all the help you can get to stay competitive. Here are a few things you’ll want to do both before attempting to level up from 58-60 and before heading through the Dark Portal on patch day.

Even with a boost, there’s a lot to catch up on before Burning Crusade goes live. If you’re serious about sticking around this time, though, think about leveling up your professions before launch. Most of the best Burning Crusade gear is crafted by other players, and being the one to supply this stuff for your high-level guildmates will go a long way in keeping you motivated to catch up. Likewise, the goods gathered by miners, skinners, and herbalists will be in high demand for years to come, making them valuable professions for the less passive player. At the end of the day, though, it’s all about who you want to be in this sprawling life simulator. Are you the blacksmith, the forager, or the warrior?